Water closet



Aug.6, 1940. $.DUNER 2,210,630

WATER CLOSET Filed Aug. 15, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l M WW. J-

w Hum 64 I n I I 1 ATTORNEYS Aug. 6, 1940. DUNER 2,210,630

WATER CLOSET Fil ed Aug. 15, 1938 2 SheetsSheet 2 I 1mm 77 v INVENTOR.

Suez? fizz/2e) I BY &, g lg 4 61" ATTORNEYS,

' Patented Aug. 6, 1940 amen PATENT OFFICE WATER CLOSET Sven Duner, Wheaton, Ill., assignor to Duner 00., Chicago,1ll., a corporation of Illinois Application August 15, 1938, Serial No. 224,974

- 8 Claims.

This invention relates in general to improvements in water closets, and has more particular reference to improvements in water closets, having a. movable dump pan, for use in vehicles.

Water closets of this type are usually equipped with a mechanism consisting of a'series of links, which are under the control of counterweights, for rocking the dump pan downwardly in flushing and at the same time rocking the sealing plate upwardly so as to prevent an updraft through the toilet or closet. A principal object of the invention, therefore, is the provision of an actuating .means which will eliminate the usual counterweights and at the same time create a positive movement of the dump pan from its opened position to its closed position.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a compression spring which is the same time providing a more compact structure which is adapted to be installed in a smaller space and much closer to the wall than was heretofore possible.

Another important object of the invention is the provision in a water closet having a tiltable dump pan of a spring for normally maintaining the pan in closed position, and linkage mechanism interconnecting the pan and the spring to enable the expenditure of a minimum amount of effort in overcoming the force of the spring to move the pan to open position.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

' Figure l is a side elevational view of the improved water closet showing the compression spring as it is attached to the dump pan;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved water closet, from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1, showing the dump pan mechanism in normal position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the improved water closet, similar to Fig. 1, showing the compression spring as it appears when the dump pan is in opened position; and

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the improved water closet taken substantially on the line l l of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral I I indicates in generala water closet or hopper comprising a bowl l2 and a stand or supporting member l3 formed integrally therewith. The water closet II is cast or formed in one piece, preferably of vitreous china, although any other suitable material or metal may be used.

A dump pan l4 normally, closes the lower end of the bowl l2, as shown in Figure 4, and is fixedly mounted on a transverse shaft l5 extending through and is suitably journaled in the side walls of the stand portion I3 of the water closet ll. The dump pan and operating mechanism willbe briefly described herein, a more complete and detailed description of similar mechanism being given in United States Patent No, 1 ,992,653.

An arm, not shown, fixedly secured to the shaft l5 at one end, is provided with a pin l'l extending into a slot I8 which is provided in the lower portionof a link H3. The opposite end of the shaft has been formed into a rectangular shape upon which an arm I6 is adapted to be mounted. The arm I6 is securely held to the shaft l5 by means of a set screw 2i or the like. Pivotally mounted to the free end of the arm it by means of a pin 22 is a link 23. Attached to the opposite end of the link 23 by means of a pin 2 is an arm member 25.

A rod 26 is mounted in the member and is securely held thereto by means of lock nuts 2? or the like. The free end of the rod 25 is adapted to be inserted in a suitable aperture formed in a bracket arm 29 which is mounted to the water closet I I, preferably the supporting bracket of a flushing valve mechanism 3| of any preferred or desired construction. A compression spring 32 is placed upon the rod 26 between the arm 25 and the bracket 29 and is of such a size as to impart the proper amount of force against the arm 25, link 23 and arm l6 atall times. The normal position of the arm l6, link 23 and arm 25 is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 and tends to nor- 4O mally hold the dump pan I4 in closed position. The above described mechanism is mounted on the shaft l5 and eliminates the necessity of having the counterweights heretofore used for nor-- mally holding the dump pan M in closed position. i

The link I!) is pivotally connected at 33 to one end of a link 34. The other end of the link 3 1 is pivotally connected to a foot lever 35. The upper end of the link 19 is pivotally connected at 36 with a lever 3'! which in turn is connected to the flushing valve mechanism Iii so that upon raising the link 34, by means of the foot lever 35, the movement of the dump pan l 4 is started while at the same time the flushing valve M is set in operation in order to thoroughly flush the interior of the bowl l2.

Within the lower end of the stand portion l3, directly below the bowl I2 and dump pan I4, is positioned a funnel-shaped downwardly extending member (Fig. 4). The member is detachably associated with the stand l3 so that the dump pan i4 is made easily accessible, either for repairs or removal. The upper flaring edge 39 of the member 38 abuts against a shoulder 4! formed within the interior of the stand l3. A gasket 42 may be used to make the joint between the flaring edge 39 of the member 38 and the shoulder 4! water tight and to prevent any seepage therethrough. While in the instant case a rubber gasket 42 is used, a non-soluble cement or putty is also adapted to be used to help make the joint water tight, but it is to be understood that other gasket materials may also be used such as lead, treated waterproofing material, or the like.

Cast integrally with the side walls of the member 38 and extending outwardly therefrom are a plurality of protuberances (not shown). Fastened to the interior of the side Walls of the stand portion l3, by means of bolts 43, or the like, are a plurality of hanger members which abut the above-mentioned protuberances. The edge of the member 38 is drawn upwardly against the shoulder 4! by means of set screws and is securely held in place.

A pair of oppositely disposed bearing members 44 and 45 are formed integrally with the member 38. A shaft 43, journaled in the bearing 44, carries an arm 41 loosely mounted thereon at one end and an arm 48 fixedly mounted thereto, the arm 41 having a bifurcated end 49 which loosely supports it on the shaft 36. The other end of the fixed arm 48 is yieldingly connected to the arm 4'! by'means of a coiled tension spring 56.

Extending inwardly from the arm 41 is a pin 5| which is fastened to the arm 4'! by means of a rivet or by some other suitable means. Formed integrally with the pin 5| is an upstanding arm 32 having the upper end bent at approximately a right angle to the arm. The pin 5| is normally adapted to rest in a suitable aperture which is formed in one end of a segment lever arm 51. The outer periphery of the segment lever arm 51 is in the shape of an arc of a circle having its center at the center of the shaft I5. The segment lever arm 51 is adapted to come in contactwith the pin 5! and is fixedly mounted on the shaft l5 in any well known manner. A protuberance 53 is formed in the other end of the segment lever 51 and is adapted to bear against the stop member 52 when the segment lever 5'! has been rotated about the shaft !5. The segment lever 51 is also actuated by the spring pressed member i6, '23 and 25 which is secured to the shaft IS on the opposite side of the Water closet ll. 7 I

Journaled in the bearing 45 is a shaft 6| which has fastened to it at its outer end an arm 62, which in turn is fastened to a weight 63. Fastened to the inner end of the shaft 6! and disposed interiorly of the stand portion I3 is a downwardly extending arm 64, and a corresponding arm 65 is also fastened to the interior of the shaft 46. The lower ends of the arms 84 and 65 are in turnfastened to a draft memberor sealing plate 66 which is adapted to close the lower open end of the member 38,.

The draft plate 66 is normally held in a partially open position so as to facilitate operation thereof since it requires less effort and a more simple mechanism to operate the draft member 66 from a partially open position than if the same is held in a normally closed position. When the foot lever 35 is pressed downwardly the link 34 will move upwardly and cause the link H! to move. The movement of the link l9 will move the pin I! and at the same time cause the segment lever 51 to rotate about the shaft l5. As the segment lever 51 starts to rotate the outer periphery comes into contact with the pin 5i and slides along the same until the dump pan l4 strikes the inner wall of the stand portion I3 or until the foot lever 35 strikes the floor or the protuberance 53 strikes the stop member 52.

The initial movement of the segment lever 51 causes the arms 41 and 48 to move, which in turn causes the shafts 46 and GI to rock and thus force the draft plate 66 upwardly to close the opening in the member 38. Upon return or downward movement of the link 34 the dump pan returns to its normally closed position and closes the opening in the bowl l2. Upon return to substantially normal position of the dump pan M, the draft plate 66 opens to allow the refuse to be emptied.

The initial movement of the segment lever 57 by the foot lever 35 also causes the shaft [5 to rotate counterclockwise (Figs. 1 and 3). The rotation of the shaft l5 causes the arm 16 to move upwardly and by reason of the link 23 pulls the member 25 with it. As the member 25 moves upwardly it causes the rod 26 to move through its aperture, formed in the bracket 29 until its topmost position is reached (viewing Fig. 3). When the mmeber 25 and the rod 26 have reached this position, the compression spring 32 has been very nearly compressed to its smallest length and is exerting its entire force against the arm 25 since the bracket 29 is in a stationary position and cannot be moved. However, this increased force of the spring 32 does not affect the normal operation of the link mechanism 23 and I6. During the entire movement of the linkage I6, 23, 25. the spring 32 is acting to push the same downwardly and in approximately the same direction;

In rotation of the shaft l5 and the movement of the linkage I6, 23, 25 to compress the spring 32 from its position of Fig. 1 to its position of Fig. 3, only a minimum effort or force will be required, because the linkage is so constructed and arranged that, as the force of the spring is increased due to the compression thereof, the effective turning force of the spring upon the shaft I5 is uniformly decreased in substantially direct proportion thereto. This result is obtained because, in the movement ofthe linkage from the position of Fig. 1 to the position of Fig. 3, the eifective turning moment arm imposed upon the shaft 15 by the spring 32 is gradually de creased. This moment arm comprises the distance between the centers of the shaft i5 and the pin 24. The result of this particular arrange ment of the lever system, therefore, is to necessitate the application of only a minimum force in compressing the spring 32 while moving the dump pan M to open position, rather than necessitating the application of a gradually increasing force to effect the desired result. A positive action on the shaft I5 is always assured with the least amount of space necessary. By using such a hook-up the usual counterweights are eliminated with a resulting elimination of the possi bility of having the arms, to which the weights are attached, bent or broken.

It is apparent from the above that a much more compact water closet will be the result which can be adapted to fit into a smaller space than was heretofore thought possible. This saving of space has become of great importance where it is desired to install a water closet in the new type streamline trains, trailers, etc. since all unnecessary space can be further utilized.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefo're described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A water closet, comprising a bowl having a lower open end, a closure member mounted on said water closet adjacent the lower open end of said bowl, means for resiliently maintaining said closure member in closed position, means operable to move said closure member to open position against the action of said resilient means, and means interposed between said last two means for varying the efiect of said first means so that only a minimiu'n force is required to actuate said closure member opening means.

2. A water closet, comprising a bowl having a lower open end, a dump pan mounted in said water closet adjacent the lower open end of said bowl, a spring mounted on said closet for resiliently maintaining said dump pan in closed position, means operable to move said dump pan to open position, and linkage interposed between said spring and said means for varying the effect of said spring so that only a minimum amount of force is required to actuate said dump pan.

3. A water closet, comprising a bowl having a lower open end, a stand portion formed integrally with said bowl for supporting the same and having a lower open end, a dump pan mounted in said stand portion adjacent the lower open end of said bowl, a spring for normally resiliently maintaining said dump pan in closed position,

means operable for moving said dump pan to open position against the action of said spring, and linkage interposed between said spring and said means for varying the effect of said spring so that only a minimum amount of force required to actuate said dump pan. 7

4. A water closet, comprising a bowl having a lower open end, a dump pan mounted in said water closet adjacent the lower open end of said bowl, a spring mounted on said closet for resiliently maintaining said dump pan in closed posi tion, means operable to move said dump pan to open position, and compensating means interposed between said spring and said means for reducing the effective force of said spring so that only a minimum. amount of force is required to actuate said dump pan.

5. A water closet, comprising a dump pan, means for resiliently maintaining said dump pan in normally closed position, means movable from normal position for moving said dump pan to open position against the reaction of said resilient means, and means interposed between said dump pan and said resilient means for decreasing the efifective reaction of the latter during operation of said pan moving means in moving said pan to open position, said resilient means being adapted to return said other means and said dump pan to normal position.

6. A water closet, comprising a dump pan, spring. means for applying a turning moment to said dump pan to normally resiliently maintain the same in closed position, means for moving said dump pan to open position against the tension of said spring means, said last means functioning to increase the tension of said spring means as said dump pan is moved to open position, and means interposed between said dump pan and said spring means for preventing any increase in the'efiective turning moment of said spring means, as applied to said dump pan, due to theincrease in the. tension of said spring means as said dump pan is moved to open position.

'7. A water closet, comprising a dump pan, spring means for applying a turning moment to said dump pan to normally resiliently maintain the same in closed position, means for moving said dump pan to open position against the tension of said spring means, said last means functioning to increase the tension of said spring means as said dump pan is moved to open position, and means interposed between said dump pan and said spring means for preventing any increase in the effective turning moment of said spring means, as applied to said dump pan, due to the increase in the tension of said spring means as said dump pan is moved to open position, said spring means being adapted to alone return said dump pan to closed position.

8. A water closet, comprising a dump pan, linkage connected to said dump pan, spring means for applying a turning moment through said linkage to said dump pan to normally resiliently maintain the latter in closed position, and means for moving said dump pan to open position, said last means functioning to move said linkage, as said pan is moved to open position, to increase the reactive force of said spring means and said linkage being so constructed and arranged as to decrease the arm of said turning moment to prevent any increase of the latter due to the increase of the reactive force of said spring means as said dump pan is moved to open position.

SVEN DUNER. 

